Introduction

The first of our two policy topics is redlining. While redlining itself is a housing topic, or maybe even a housing finance topic, redlining’s impact reaches far beyond housing into numerous other aspects of city life. Influencing where the most favorable housing lending was offered influenced who could and could not live in particular areas of cities. That influenced neighborhoods, and neighborhood economies. It influenced that generation’s ability to build wealth and subsequently intergenerational wealth. It sparked a pattern of investment vs. disinvestment that is still, in many cities, visible today.

Readings

We have two readings to complete. The first one provides some history. It’s important because as students interested in cities you’ve probably heard of redlining, but maybe don’t know its actual history.  The Ugly History of Redlining: A Federal Policy ‘Full of Evil’ is available through CSU’s Electronic Course Reserve.

The second reading, The Lasting Legacy of Redlining brings contemporary data together with the redlining maps for a variety of cities. Try not to get hung up on specific details of specific cities, but rather, focus on the larger lessons that emerge out of this multi-city analysis.